Car and Road Accident Lawyers

Motor accident claims proceed against the CTP insurer of the at-fault vehicle.  In essence, when you are claiming compensation you are simply only making an insurance claim. 

The driver of the at-fault vehicle is involved only to the extent they need to tell their insurer their version of events about how the accident happened.  All dealings and negotiations take place with CTP insurer (the insurance company).
You can carry out an online search to determine who the CTP insurer of the at-fault vehicle is:  click here.

Passengers involved in a car accident can bring claims too (it’s not restricted only to drivers). 

The CTP insurance of the at-fault vehicle covers the driver for any claim made by any affected party.  That includes passengers in their own vehicle. Making such a claim won't have any cost or adverse affects on the at-fault driver. That is a common concern when the driver is a partner, family member or friend.

Any injured person can make a claim.  It is then lodged with the CTP insurer of the at-fault vehicle (regardless of which vehicle you are in).

You have a right to obtain a copy of the police report relating to your car accident.  It is often a useful starting point in establishing neglience.

Any individual can access the police report themselves (even if there is no insurance claim).  

You need to apply to CITEC Confirm. 

Contact CITEC Comfirm by phone: 1800 773 773 for more information.

This could be a situation where you have two insurance options available.

If you were driving to, from or for work and you were an employee then you will likely have a workers’ compensation claim available to you. 

Assuming another person was at-fault you will also be able to bring an injury claim against the CTP insurer of the at-fault vehicle. 

It is often (but not always) possible to pursue both claims at the same time. 

Injury claims against the CTP insurer typically result in greater levels of compensation whereas the workers’ compensation scheme provides the ability to recover lost income and other medical benefits at an early stage.

Talk to one of our no win no fee car accident lawyers in a free intial consult to learn more.

Yes.  Your private health insurance still applies if you suffered a car accident injury.

It is likely your health insurance policy will require you to reimburse them if a car accident claim is made against the CTP insurance company though.  The laws of insurance and negligence mean that there will likely be a refund payable back to the private health insurer which then forms part of your damages claim (so you are not out of pocket). 

Yes. You still have a right to all of the usual Medicare benefits even if you are claiming compensation.

If an injury claim is made you will be required to repay Medicare for any of the medical expenses they have paid for you. As part of your injury claim you have the right to claim that refund amount and it will form part of your damages payout.

So effectively the CTP insurer is paying back any Medicare benefits made to you or on your behalf.

You have the right to bring the claim yourself or to use the services of a lawyer to represent you.  There is no legal requirement for a lawyer to be involved.   Talk to one of our no win no fee car accident lawyers to learn more about your rights with a free initial consult.

 

 

It doesn’t matter where you live, you still have a right to make a claim.  It is only importnat where the accident happened. If you suffered an injury when a car accident occurred whilst travelling in Queensland then the Queensland law and compulsory third party insurance accident scheme applies to you.  

Claiming compensation in car accident claims is the same no matter where you live.

If you live interstate or overseas we can be contacted by telephone or video-conferencing for a free initial consult.

To succeed in a car accident you only need to prove some other person was at fault (even if only partly).  Once you do then the court considers whether you were at fault too.  If so, then a finding of contributory negligence can be made.  A court weighs up who was most at fault.  A percentage apportionment of overall fault is made. 

If contributory negligence is found against you, your compensation award is reduced by the level which you are found to be at fault.

Here is an example:

Graham was driving his car and approaching an intersection.  Paul was driving in the opposite direction on the same road.  Paul then decides to turn in front of Graham.  Graham had the right of way but continued to speed towards Paul without slowing down at all.  Graham had also forgotten to put on his seatbelt.  

Graham suffers an injury as a result of the accident. Graham then brings a motor vehicle accident claim against Paul’s compulsory third party insurance.

The court finds that Paul was responsible (at fault) for failing to give way but also finds that Graham was partly at fault for his injury for not wearing a seatbelt and for not slowing down when he could have.   

• The court apportions liability (fault) 70% to Paul and 30% to Graham. 
• This means that Graham’s compensation is reduced by 30%.

In a strict technical sense, a police fine or court prosecution for traffic offences or criminal charges arising from a motor vehicle accident has no impact on the success of the car accident claim.

That is because the car accident claim is a civil claim for negligence and the police charges are for a criminal proceeding.  They are approached differently.  One has no formal bearing on the other.

But, from a practical perspective , if an at-fault party is found guilty of an offence then an insurer will usually give that some weight when thinking about their ability to successfully defend the civil negligence claim.

Yes.  We do help clients with claims involving damage to their vehicles and with their dealings with their insurer or another party.  It is one of the areas of law we practice in.

We offer this service to any injured client who we represent.

If there is no injury claim we may still be able to assist.

 

Yes, in road and car accident claims in Queensland, a person who is injured through the negligence or fault of someone who is drunk or intoxicated can still bring a valid claim against the CTP insurer.

That insurer then deals with the claim in the usual way with the injured party and makes payment to them when the claim is resolved. 

However, the CTP insurer may have a right of recovery (an ability to claim back that money) from the person who was drunk or intoxicated.  But that is only a matter between those parties.

The injured person’s claim is not impacted by that at all.  A valid and viable claim still exists even if the at-fault driver was drunk or intoxicated.

Complications can arise if the injured person knew the driver was intoxicated and still chose to travel with them (usually this just reduces the level of compensation though rather than mean none can be claimed). 

Contact us now for a free initial consultation with our expert motor vehicle accident lawyers.  Our claims are run with no upfront costs on a no win, no fee agreement.

You have the right to bring a claim straight away or to wait beofre you so.  However, strict time limits do apply to claim personal injury compensation after a car or road accident in Queensland. Typically you have up to 3 years to lodge a claim, however, there are exceptions which can make it shorter such as when an unidentified vehicle is involved.

Those aged 18 or under typically have until they turn 21 to make a claim.

When an unidentified vehicle is involved you only have 9 months from an accident to claim. 

If appropriate steps aren't taken before the relevant time limits pass then you could lose your right to claim altogether. 

Yes.  You still have a right to make a claim even if you don't recall what happened.

It is not uncommon in traumatic events such as car accidents for there to be some blurred or lost memories.  It could be a sign of a more serious closed brain injury.  That doesn't prevent you from having a right to claim.  It just means you need to rely on other objective evidence to prove the fault of another party.    To be able to prove the existence of the closed head or brain injury in the negligence claim it’s important that you raise your symptoms with your doctor and health care professionals to ensure this is investigated.

We have lawyers who specialise in brain injury cases.  Get free initial advice with the possibility of no win no fee arrangements. 

 

There are many factors that can influence who is deemed at fault in a car or road accident.

Typically, in rear end accidents between two cars, it is the car that hit the other from behind who would be deemed liable due to the responsibility to keep a safe distance.

A driver is also more likely to be found liable if it can be proved they made a traffic violation such as:

• speeding 
• a drink or drug driving violation
• failing to stop at a stop sign or running a red light (evidence such as dashcam footage or witness reports can help prove this)
• not having headlights on at night
• failure to indicate
• using their phone while driving

It’s not always a case of one driver being all at fault. Sometimes both drivers can be partly to blame.  There may be ‘contributory negligence’ if either both drivers are at fault in some way, or if the ‘not at fault’ drivers injuries are worse than they should have been due to their own actions such as not wearing a seat belt.

There are also some ‘blameless’ accident situations such as a wild animal running into the road.

Contact us now for a free initial consultation with one of our accident lawyers who specialise in our expert motor vehicle accident claims.  Our claims are run with no upfront costs on a no win, no fee agreement.